I was just thinking, What in the heck is going on here?, I imagine one day you guys will speak again. Apparently Phil and Bill grew up near each other and knew each other fairly well. All are renowned in the business, but some are less well known to the general public. Maybe once in a lifetime. But I had let him know on the last Genesis tour that I was going to take a break from doing his tours since I thought he was going to keep doing the same every-year-in-between thing. Phil Collins had to hire Chester Thompson and Bill Bruford. He knows what he likes Well Steve was recording a couple of other albums and he was wealthy by that moment, his dream was always to make Genesis sound as he wanted to listen them. They really enjoy life and love to laugh. I didnt see Phils tour. I never went in under any pretense of thinking it was going to be anything other than what it was. He put everything into it. For lack of a better word, they are really, really British. Yeah, apparently so. There was no getting around it. It was another situation of me not getting any sleep since I was up all night writing charts. Phil Collins / Chester Thompson (Genesis) Drum Duet 1980 - 84 - YouTube 0:00 / 6:04 Phil Collins / Chester Thompson (Genesis) Drum Duet 1980 - 84 Seven Stones 2.15K subscribers Subscribe 1.5K. Why? Phil Collins lost ability to drum on 2007 Genesis reunion tour I saw James Brown, an early Motown revue, Sam Cooke, Chuck Jackson, Jerry Butler, the Impressions, Sam and Dave, all the Stax artists. Listen Renaissance, Marillion, Pendragon Barclay James Harvest, Moody Blues, Procol Harum, The Strawbs, etc are full of ballads, and nobody ever made a problem. And at the end of the show, he just went off. Phil Collins - Take me Home (live 1990) - Chester Thompson Drum cam How was the 2007 Genesis tour? Breaks Down His Killer White House Correspondents Dinner Set, Bernie Sanders: Many GOP Leaders 'Don't Even Believe in Democracy'. That was fun, but it was a one-off. The problem is that after a couple of albums Tony lost xcontrol and Phil decided what path to take, making a parallel solo career that is comonly mistaken with Genesis later albums, that's what I blame him for.Actually I havent heard Hacketts Genesis revisited - is it good? [Laughs] Not very much. Absolutely. I played every weekend from eighth grade until I graduated high school. How were the Phil solo tours? Phil releases "My favourite Genesis tracks from the 70`s" - rerecorded with old friends. Hes gone., Were the dates in Australia and other markets you didnt hit the first time? In the meantime, they had brought in [drummer] Narada Michael Walden. Would have to be an idiot not to agree with this, my problem is not with his drumming, I recently had a discussion with a member who said he was only an average drummer not able to play with Yes. We learned how to deal with it. IN THIS 2014 INTERVIEW, PHIL COLLINS DESCRIBES HOW HE RECRUITED THE AMERICAN DRUMMER CHESTER THOMPSON TO PLAY DRUMS WITH GENESIS, REPLACING PHIL AS THE PRIMA. Well appreciated, keep up enjoying Phil Collins! Ralph Humphrey was very helpful that whole time because I had been getting into odd times, but not at the level Frank was doing it. It was fun. But I believe Steve won more, because he didn't took part in the POP Genesis (Something with what he clearly disagrees) and made a solid career. Phil Collins had to hire Chester Thompson and Bill Bruford. Roger Taylor: good singer, good composer, good drummer, but he has never had the same success as Collins with his solo albums. If I were to sum up my opinions of the five (actually leaving out Ant Phillips seems wrong since I think his guitarplaywas important to the early Genesissound and the fact that Mike calledhim the keymember at the time) members life after Genesis: I feel like Ive sort of left the point wether Phil is nasty or not Summary: I dont think Phil is a nasty man and he doesnt deserve all the critisicm he sometimes gets here at Progarchives. Ive never heard anything he did that had that particular feel to it. The first few stadiums, its like, Oh, my goodness! And then it starts feeling normal. He spent 30 years in Genesis as a touring drummer, but he had a falling out with Phil Collins in 2010 and they haven't spoken since By Andy Greene February 4, 2021 "Culturally, we were on. But after reading the (excellent) interview, I have to say I'm quite surprised at how Chester was treated by the guys through the years. It made me realize that it really was a band. First, a great interview. To be honest, the problem started with all the band specially because many people believe (I also do) that the relation between Tony and Steve wasn't good since he recorded Voyage (Tony was clear, no solo projects, and Steve didn't invited him but calling Mike and Phil), plus the fact that Tony was suposed to be the main songwritter, but Steve wanted to fight this position with him. I like ballads like Lucky Man, Still you Turn me On, Redezvous 6:02, Soon, Lonely Wind, July Morning, Carpet Crawlers, and a lot more. It took me a while to get over it, but I really wish him well. And of course, my mom loved music. Theyd add horn sections and stuff. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7_vNpVXubA, What happened from there? They were doing Cloudburst and all that stuff. The difference being I wasnt so much into the English drummers, like Keith Moon, and he was. Chester Thompson Interview: Drummer on Genesis, Phil Collins, Zappa I said, Man, I cant do that. It was never a competition where I thought it should be me. The Australia leg got added later and they wound up doing a film of the tour. Exactly. Why not Chester Thompson on the proposed Reunion? : Genesis - Reddit I might. Well, I didnt sleep. This is the live version of Inside Out, recorded in Berlin in 1990. Former touring drummer Chester Thompson and Collins had a falling out and have not spoken in years. Daryl and I came back. My wife and I went down to see his big band in Birmingham. Bill Graham and I could just never agree on the money. They assumed I was going with Alphonso. Who did you see after that? Editors picks Almost a tradition? Oh, my goodness! Can anyone speculate as to why Chester Thompson won't be - Reddit I wasnt enough of a diplomat to just say, Oh, everything is wonderful. The Genesis stuff was more musically challenging and interesting to me. "This album is dedicated to Richard MacPhail who left April, 1973.". That was incredible! Watcher of the skies is very good and solid vocals by John Wetton, Fountain of Salmacis is great with an acoustic guitar intro and Steve singing ections with vocodsr , but my favorite is the Orchestral version of Firth of Fifth, very beautiful. . By then, I had heard a lot of the prog-rock stuff and was very interested to play with those guys. Shed been on the road for three years straight and she got it. I had to use oxygen tanks after every take. Alan White studied a bit of piano, but he is mainly self-taught as a drummer. Carl Palmer: again great drummer but not a main composer in ELP or Asia. Exactly. Still his guitarplay wasvery important to the music even if his composing didnt reach the albums. I no longer teach at the university, but I have taken on some private students. the Amazon Associates Program via amazon.com. Avatar: Photo of Solar Eclipse, Mexico City, July 1991. What happened when Jaco Pastorius came in on bass and Alphonso Johnson left? Chester was very cool in this article. Reading the book I get the feeling that he only felt really involved in Selling EnglandFirst he says he had a slight inferior complex as a composer, his ideas were not well recieved, his marriage ended etc. So, he had to be at the front of the stage. I love the Tokyo Tapes show you did with Steve Hackett and all the prog guys in 1996. You taught for years at the college level. I dont think that far ahead. Thread starter Vistalite Black; Start date Feb 5, 2021; Prev. The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. I said, Tony, in view of what Phil said in this interview, I guess I dont need to hold these dates any more? He said, What are you talking about? So I continue quite off topic!Actually I havent heard Hacketts Genesis revisited - is it good? When I was 13 and able to go on my own, I pretty much went every other week. I was like, Man, Ive got to have some time with my family. You couldnt take yourself that seriously. Not even Peter made an album with all Genesis tracks, only Steve. What I don't like is MUZAK (Elevator music), and that's Phil's field. How was that? None of the other members really knew how to communicate in a funny way with their audiences. I think that he became popular with housewives, and that was his "guilt". Not the first day. Yeah. Phil Collins Blamed His Drummer for Everything on Debut Solo Tour Feb 7, 2021 #34 . I just knew that he was a radically different person than Id ever known. Chester Thompson: Schlagzeug; Leland Sklar: Bass; Brad Cole: Keyboards; Produktion. Who were some of your drumming heroes as a teenager? No. We were out there hitting it together and theres something about that. Long story short: Collins turned up in a bad mood for the 2010 "Going Back" tour and griped at Thompson because Thompson hadn't prepared the Motown drum parts in enough detail. Ive still got pretty mixed feelings about it. The peak of Genesis on a commercial level was the Invisible Touch period. We wouldnt just play a song in five. It was really disturbing because for the first two weeks. !-REACTION RisbyDaCreator 10K views 2. Obviously it's not definitive, but the Chester Thompson Wiki page does have some information on it. In my opinion, everyone has to sell out a little bit to survive. not too many of them are composers, not too many of them become famous as soloists, not too many of them are very good lead singers. They did some concerts and demos and then the real story started with Tony Banks and Peter Gabriel joining Ant and Mike 1967. Chester Thompson on Decade-Long Rift with Crab Apple Phil Collins Since then, I was pretty upset. -Ballads in Prog Rock are underrated, because Prog Rock is not "romantic". Prog Rock is melodic and can be romantic, there's a difference between romantic and cheesy, most Phil Collins songs are cheesy. I have a big MS Word file with interviews about the "Union" album of YES. He told me what he had in mind. He hung out with the band after the shows and stuff. This is the same time that Chicago and Elton John are recording there. They were having a little congratulations party for Tony [Smith] to celebrate 30 years of management or something. Not all his music is that way.With the exception of his Disney music albums and his "Testify" album, I have listened to most of his albums.I found some good songs there. Rolling Stone suspended its policy on Genesis not being cool enough to report on for a long interview with Chester Thompson. In fact, most of the names of the drummers appear almost always at the end of the credits in the album covers. As far as teaching, I only took that gig because my son was going to that school. Yeah. So I continue quite off topic! I wonder something, this guy was never a Genesis member, he was describe as a "Musical friend of the band", what the hell is he doing here? Its not something he did. But I understand a totally different thing from your quotes, but again it's only my opinion. But back to the point, the investment in this album was big, Bruford, Levin, Wetton, Ian Mc'Donnald, Julian Colbeck, etc are not cheap, and he knew from thestartthis album would never be a hit. That was my first real, name person I worked with. As some of the other guys have said, a really great read. The manager of Chicago [Jim Guercio] supposedly bought it as a tax write-off. I was playing with adults. Reading some of these commentaries in this threadI started to think that Phil Collins is really underrated because not too many drummers are key members in their bands. Somehow, they offered me the gig. It was this huge frame of all their albums. yet (see the forest thru the trees) don't miss the interesting and insightful drum life Chester has led. Why not? And I gotta tell you, man, Barry Gibb might have been one of the most professional people Ive worked with in my life. So I can understand he creates mixed emotions , the disappointment we all felt with the direction of music through the 80s but I think he has been turned intoa scapegoat for a much broader trend. I cant be gone that much at this point. Thats when Ricky [Lawson] wound up doing [the Phil solo tours of the mid-Nineties]. A couple of days later, he brought the whole band in. Great drummer. According to what Chester said in an interview, he had offered his services as a drummer, but Mike and Tony were looking to make a fresh start and looked for different musicians to play with the band. I just love the adventure of life. Unfortunately, it really took off, so I dont think it worked as a tax write-off. Duke lp is OK but Misunderstanding shoud not be on that LP that is more of Onion Head solo lp song. I was never in a teenage band. Chester Thompson sheds some light on relationship with Phil Collins. [Laughs]. [1] Thompson has performed with his jazz group, the Chester Thompson Trio, since 2011. 1; 2; 3; . Phil Collins offers health update ahead of Genesis reunion - MusicRadar He canceled a tour and was honest about it. Except the horrible version of Your Own Special Way (Already horrible) because Paul Carrack sounds as Elmer Fudd , the mediocre Bossa Nova version of I Know What I like and the hard to swallow Waiting Room Only, the rest of the album (8 more tracks) is outstanding. Hed then go off to a studio and work on whatever he had in the can. ), Forum Policies, Rules, and Terms of Service. I certainly wasnt surprised that he was successful. Id have to say, I dont think Jaco was too comfortable with that. Thank you, I agree with you about the intelligent debate and even if we disagree about somethings in the end its down to a matter of opinons. Most surely he didn't made s much money as Phil Tony and Mike, but he has a wealthy positiobn and artistic respect, something that Genesis lost. Serious Hits Live! - Wikipedia You knew it at five years old. The very first live concert I saw was Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. And then it was Louis Hayes and Elvin Jones. Did it surprise you that they called you back? A couple of the Drum Duets were released as singles in several places in South America and some countries in Europe, which is kind of cool. I dont know. They kind of assumed that he would. Genesis was very balanced. I was like, Man, when you turned around and looked, it threw me off.. Later that year, he also cancelled two gigs after falling in his hotel room and hitting his head, a result of the drop foot mentioned above. Wed just sit in a side room because all they really wanted was the three guys. I thought, That probably isnt a great idea. But it had gotten to the point where the front row at the L.A. Forum was all Hollywood celebrities as opposed to your fans. Billy Cobham: a very good drummer who shimnes mostly as soloist. Theres a great jazz community, too. But after reading the (excellent) interview, I have to say I'm quite surprised at how Chester was treated by the guys through the years. Im grateful. He was part of a band in Milwaukee that played a place that was the place to stop and jam when you were on tour. I knowsome people are not going to like my commentaries . Well, after the first tour they were like, Were going to bring you in for the next album. Phil was all for it. Also note that Onion Head didn't do much writting on the good Genesis LPs like: Foxtrot, Trespass, Selling England, Lamb, Nursery, Trick of the tail, EWnd and Wuthering. Several times. And he put down some intense, complicated stuff. No. If Phil made a compilation of 70's albums I wouldn't think he's running out of money (In first place nobody will acept to do a Prog Genesis album with him), I would think hre wants MORE money, and he's trying to recapture Prog' fanbase. That is the reason he left the drums to Chester and Bruford. And so the horns would make a mistake and hed turn around and look at me. He was brilliant. He wasnt a fan of the music. If you like it, get Tokyo Tapes, with live versions of various songs from this album, ITCOTCK and I Talk to the Wind by King Crimsonplus a semi acoustic version of Heat of the Moment and a lot of Hackett material. The Cover Looks Like An portrait Onion. That was amazing. And then it got to be a little more honest. You did four sold-out nights at Wembley Stadium. Not at all. Bands always change, and poor Phil just happened to headline the band as it started turning away from it's roots, and he gets branded as the bands destructor. Those two weeks, man, I dont think we ever laughed that much all the years wed been together. I worked with him during a really happy period in his life. He isn't the main cause of downfall for Genesis, so shut up about that. With that said, I love all of the Genesis albums from 1972-1977, including A Trick of the Tail and Seconds Out which both have Phil Collins on lead vocals. It was amazing to be in the room while they were playing at full tilt and because . He figured it out pretty quickly. I know my reaction to Hacketts "Genesis revisited" was- Hmm, I guess hes running out of money As I wrote, I find Hacketts soloalbums uneven but on the other handhis music is solid (apart from that GTR-thing, didnt like it!) The studio had tanks in the studio since they dealt with it all the time. Why didnt it go well? It was a much bigger band, Thompson told Rolling Stone in a new interview. affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network, and What a nice man, Don Van Vliet. Do you talk to Daryl still? A Godly man a class act. Say It Right, Aug 16, 2018 #152 The_Windmill likes this. The drum instructor left and Id gotten to know the head of the department. But not only did Thompson stick with Genesis all the way through their Turn It On Again reunion tour of 2007 Collins also brought him over to his solo career in 1981 and used him for nearly all of his tours between 1981 and 2010. The guy's a pro, and he plays his ass off. But it got very political and it just got ugly. They were amazing. Its going very well. Neal Peart: great drummer, lyricist, and sometimes composer of the music in Rush. I like them and respect them, even when i disagree. Even Collins, Bruford (who only received a few musical lessons), Steve Howe, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, etc. It was the RKO [Proctors Theatre] in Newark, the Arcada Theater in Chicago, the Royal Theatre in Baltimore, and the Howard Theatre in D.C. I cant be gone the whole time. Steve and I always stayed pretty good friends. Hes passed away now, but we were in about 10 or 12 bands together growing up. And I dont want to ever only play one thing. I think that Bruford said that in 1992-93 for the "Notes of the Edge" website. They said to me, Youre playing it wrong. But the manager had gone out of his way to call me before we took the Christmas break since they were so happy with the tracks wed done. His name was Birdlegs [James Youman]. [Laughs]. Then it got weird because they got comfortable with two drummers playing. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/llins-frank-zappa-weather-report-1122064/amp/, https://ultimateclassicrock.com/chester-thompson-phil-collins-solo-tour/. It was amazing stuff, absolutely. Chester Thompson on Decade-Long Rift with Crab Apple Phil Collins. I don't think he was ever going to be on board with expanding it to additional legs. Thompson called up Rolling Stone to explain how he rose out of the Baltimore housing projects, his early days with Frank Zappa and Weather Report, the ups and downs of life as a Genesis member who never played on the studio albums, and why he hasnt spoken to Phil Collins once in the past 10 years. There was a short tour coming up and he reached out to me. But he still had that American stuff; it was a big part of his background, and we just hit it off immediately. When he turned around, it just freaked me out because I was already nervous since I didnt know what was going to come next. It was Phils gig, obviously. But you have read him saying that anything after Fragile is crap, and that was a literal quote. Ive done tours of my own with my jazz trio. It was really disturbing because, for the first two weeks, I could not follow a single conversation, he admitted. Its amazing what you can get used to. It was a fun tour. Thiswent further,Steve wasn't even invited to the 1982 reunion in Milton Keynes (Only played the encores, because he was in audience). He is an actor, known for The Who's Tommy, the Amazing Journey (1993), Genesis: Man on the Corner (1982) and Phil Collins: Sussudio (1985). [Laughs] Culturally, we were on opposite sides of the world. I was pretty well into music and so I started going to every single show. But with Phil, youre one of a cast of thousands. How was your experience in the Pointer Sisters touring band after that? Chester Thompson on His Years With Genesis, Frank Zappa, and Weather Report He spent 30 years in Genesis as a touring drummer, but he had a falling out with Phil Collins in 2010 and they haven't spoken since www.yahoo.com 1975 Slingerland Stage Band, Poplar/Mahogany, White Marine Pearl (20,12,13,14, plus 16 Premier) but it was some kind of fight for the power and Tony won. We did it at Ike Turners studio, Bolic Sound. I think Onion Head's communication skills are obnoxious. We went up to New York to record. We normally had a lot of eye contact at shows. And its fine. Hes sort of a quiet guy. I dont know what they might have been going through behind the scenes, but our time together was just great. This edition features drummer Chester Thompson. This is why I don't think they sold out or did it for any other reason than that is what they wanted to do. Reading some of these commentaries in this threadI started to think that Phil Collins is really underrated because not too many drummers are key members in their bands. Are you still teaching? Yeah. I mean, I know what I hoped for. I want to go back here and talk about your life. I have no idea. I was totally gasping for air. All rights reserved. Bill Bruford, Neil Peart, Phil Ehart (even producer), Ginger Baker, Keith Moon, Jeff Porcaro, Carl Palmer, Mike Portnoy, Mick Fleetwood (The band uses his name ), John Bonham, Carmine Appice, Stewart Copeland, Cozzy Powell, Lars Ulrich, Lee Kerslake, Don Henley, Pat Mastelotto, Terry Bozzio, Roger Taylor, Billy Cobham. Chester Thompson was born on 11 December 1948 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Oh, my goodness. I never liked the idea of re-recording old favourites but Im getting a little bit intrested now. We were playing London near the end and the guys all came down. I don't think he's bnasty, seems a nice chap, but he said too many stupid things and then contradicted himself depending in the way the market went, He said Prog is crap when Prog was unpopular and harrased by Punk, Discoor New Wave, but when his boring pop became part of the past he changed and said he always was a proghead. I never really toured with an R&B band, but Id played it all my life. He had proven to be really close friends with those guys and I never related culturally, so there was always this gap between us. In 2017, Collins revealed that he was a type-2 diabetic, undergoing treatment with a hyperbaric chamber after the condition caused obsesses on his foot which became infected. They are phenomenal musicians. IvanI think we have reached the end of our discussion wether Phil is nasty or not. But he just enjoyed being around us since we were so lively and fun. In my mind, these guys were almost hippies compared to what I was used to. Just to mention a few key members that played drums. I did one of his solo albums and we had been pretty good friends. It was not at all unusual for all the families to be on tour together. And then I got into better clubs around Baltimore. He was pretty disappointed. It's really weird how people attack Phil Collins. But Steve wa always a Genesis fan, even when he wanted to make some modifications, he only could achive that making it himself, and lets be honest, he used an expensive cast: LOL. The reason we were doing it was to raise money for Peter since he went broke doing his first WOMAD show. I had a conversation with Mike Rutherford, not knowing what they were going to be doing. What were your early impressions of Frank? Id hang out with these guys and theyd play all sorts of crazy stuff Id never heard before. Yeah. Chester Cortez Thompson (born December 11, 1948) is an American drummer best known for his tenures with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, Weather Report, Santana, the progressive rock band Genesis and Phil Collins as a solo artist. Just like Dean Martin or Perry Como were passe by the 70s prog was out of fashion in the late 80s and I don't think anyone could really change that. In San Francisco, they have a minimum on these shows. The Genesis so many of us like wouldnt have been without any of members. Thats where I met my wife. Phil helped survive Genesis. Id always be checking out the rhythm section because some of them brought their own rhythm section. Basically, after the first day, I was like, The only way this is going to work is if you give me a list of which tunes you want to go over the next day Ill have them ready.. Peter Criss (Even lead vocals), Keith Moon, Carmine Appice, Roger Taylor (Much better backing vocalist than anybody else and even lead a couple of times). I absolutely loved this round table discussion of Zappa's drummers. [Laughs] Again, Im loving what Im doing with my band. Had they brought me, they would have had to pay another musician just to sit there. At one point, he toured with us. "It was quite an adjustment for me. Sat 27th Nov 2021 20.00 GMT. Im not 100 percent involved, but its really interesting, the stuff that happens here. Theyre just sitting there like, Impress me. It really annoyed them that they reached event status as opposed to just playing to fans. I guess they were never able to release it because Peter is pretty spontaneous and it drove the sound engineer crazy. Enjoy! Phil is not one of those artists. After that, I went back to Baltimore to a community college for a couple of years. You were there to see what he did with your own two eyes? Phil jokingly said, Well, were all together. It just turned out to be a one-off, but fortunately we recorded and videotaped it. On the We Cant Dance tour in 1992, did you sense that Phil wasnt going to continue with Genesis after it? Phil Collins (onion head) <-nickname), is a great drummer and that is where i believed he should have stayed. No mud slinging at all. I cant scroll fast enough to the good parts! Discover what he did to anger Thompson so much they haven't exchanged holiday cards since 2019. I seem to recall Chester had a falling out with the post-Collins duo too, when they rejected his request to become a full member in the band. He's probably one of the nicest, most down-to-earth guys in music (and that should be a good thing). Man, it was wonderful. Mike, Tony and Peter seem to be working very well together composing and its hard for Phil and Stevein the beginning to contribute. Phil Collins and Chester Thompson Interview for Drummer in 1977 during the period of Seconds Out Im pretty excited about this project with them.
phil collins chester thompson falling out